Sermon: Embracing God’s Promise of Hope
Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31 “O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not faint.” NLT
Introduction: Isaiah 40 is designed to take your focus away from everything else and consider the Sovereign Lord, the one true, living God. The chapter begins with a message of comfort and redemption from the Lord (verses 1-2). It points to the coming of Christ and good news. The Lord gives us remedies to doubts that creep in about his ability to help or his care to help when we are in a great crisis. These words are addressed to his people; those who have been redeemed by his grace. He points us away from the crisis (and doubts about him) to facts about him.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” He points you to creation. The world had a beginning, it was once nothing. The world owes its being to the creative power of God. God spoke the world into being, and instantly it was so. Obviously, if you look at the creation you can see that it would take much less power to relieve us in whatever crisis we are in than it did to create or maintain the world. God is certainly able, and He wants His people to consider that fact. That leaves us the subject of His concern, His care for His people. Isaiah points out that His understanding is unsearchable. We may not understand why we are in dire straits, but God does. God has revealed to His people the things necessary for them to have peace with Him, and He has provided even more in the coming Christ.
When we seek relief in present troubles it is necessary to remember God’s former mercies. The knowledge of who God is provides the spiritual strength we need to endure faithfully. We are the ones who faint and grow weary, God never does. In verse 29, the Lord promises to provide strength to us: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” This may not seem to be our experience. We might ask how we can tap into this supply of strength? It is by our faith. The Lord has already directed us to be assured of His ability to help and His concern for us. God says these things to convince us that He is for us! The next thing would be to go to the foundation our salvation to revisit what the good news teaches us. There is no other God like our God. God is a savior and deliverer.
Isaiah prophesied during the reign of four kings of Israel: Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz and Hezekiah. From the death of Uzziah to the reign of Hezekiah was 47 years. Isaiah's ministry lasted more than 60 years. Isaiah 40 is the turning point of the book. It is the subject of Ricky Dillard’s Melody, “God is great! “The greatness of the Lord is inconceivable; The love that he shows is unconditional; The power of the Lord is unbeatable; Great is the God we serve; God is great and greatly to be praised, God is great and greatly to be praised."
It can be difficult to hear these words during struggle and trials, election stress, mental disorders, medical difficulties, bereavement, and grief. Isaiah offers hope to a people who seemed to be doubting the ability of God and concern of God. It is believed that Isaiah had written this message years before to the children of Judah in Babylon. After 70 years of captivity, the fall of Assyria and Babylon, then the rise of Persia, the people of Judah seem to see their God as powerless to change things. There are times when it seems that Satan is getting the best of us, and circumstances seem to be out of control. Often, it’s a little hard to maintain our faith and trust in God when everything seems to be going against us. The People of Judah were in the middle of one of the greatest trials of their lives. It is in those times that they needed the Lord more than ever, yet they felt abandoned.
During times of great distress, our faith and trust in God is really put to the test. This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Walking with the Lord seems easy when God’s presence is near, His power is demonstrated, prayers are being answered and all is going well. It is more difficult for believers when the weight of the whole world is upon our shoulders and trouble is all around. Too many believers give up their faith and bail out on God during the storms of persecution and trials.
If your life is in the middle of turmoil and the waves of temptation are trying to drown you, We need to remember that God is both able and willing to help us. Your faith will be tested, doubts may flood your mind but there hope in God. If we endure, we will come out stronger, wiser and better. Others will be able to see that your relationship with God is rich and true. So why should the people of Judah be comforted? Why should maintain their faith in God? Isaiah gives 8 reasons to be comforted in this text, yet believers must choose to embrace God's promise of Hope. They must choose to be comforted in times of grief. In Ge 37:35 the children of Jacob tried to comfort him. “And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus, his father wept for him.” After Joseph was missing and Jacob’s sons returned with the coat of many colors covered in blood, Jacob thought the worst and then refused to be comforted. The period of mourning was over, but Jacob made a choice to live in grief. We can make a choice to live in grief and regret or we can live in hope.
Isaiah 40 gives several reasons believers can embrace hope and trust God’s promise of supernatural renewal and strength. By faith believers can choose to ignore their circumstances and embrace God’s message of hope. Isaiah suggests that we as believers:
Embrace hope because God’s punishment for Judah is accomplished. It is over!
Embrace hope because God will remove every obstacle. (4-5)
Embrace hope because God’s Word stands sure. (6-8)
Embrace hope because of God’s Greatness (9-10)
Take a closer look at God! Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand and his mighty arm. He will reward you and bless you. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm. He shall carry them in his bosom. He shall gently lead those with young. Behold your God’s strength and power. He measures the waters of the earth in the hollow of his hand. He measures heaven with the span of his reach. He comprehends the dust of the earth and weighs the mountains and the hills in a scale. Who wouldn't trust a God like this!
Embrace hope because God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. (13-17)
Embrace hope because God has no equal, comparison or competition (18-26)
Embrace hope because God loves and cares for his children. (27-30)
Embrace hope because God gives power to the faint, strength to the weak, and renewal to the patient.
What does Isaiah 40 teach us? It shows how Satan attack the children of God and how to combat his attacks. Satan attacks with two main ideas. (1) God is unable to rescue us and (2) God does not care enough to rescue. Why because of our sin and disobedience, our guilty conscience will try to condemn us. God settled every argument of Satan, Judah's thinking and our conscience. Your debt has been paid, your account has been settled and renewal is on the way. Isaiah then teaches us that God’s promise of supernatural renewal and strength is available to every believer that wait on the Lord. Isaiah 40:31 contains a great promise of strength for the weary: “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” This promises a supernaturally renewed strength—a strength that would compare to mounting up or soaring above the difficulties.
Judah’s captivity had been long and painful. Seventy years was enough time to lose hope, to become despondent and hopeless. This is not a strange occurrence. The path of the righteous is often difficult and filled with twists and turns. Like Judah, we must behold our God anew. We will find there is no comparison to our God. Even though the Gods of this world may seem powerful and invincible, yet our God truly reigns. Sometimes our journey entails patience and waiting on the glory of God to be revealed, He will come. Our God will not come empty handed, He comes with the promise of supernatural renewal and strength to meet our trials and temptations here and now, and power to do righteous acts that bring glorify and honor God.
The Lord bought us out with a purpose. We are His witness, his lights in a dark world. Waiting does not mean wasting time or sitting idle. We wait with anticipation and with expectation. We wait in faith, still working to fulfil our assignment, testifying about what we believe. We wait knowing that we will mount up with wings! We will soar over these present troubles. We will rise above it all! God’s promise of supernatural renewal and strength is real and true and will be ours to enjoy!
